( 2 federal by elections have been called for October , although 3 other seats will soon also be vacant , but they are not included , the Sask seat for Gerry Ritz , Foote's newfoundland riding or the scarborugh Agincourt riding for recently passed away Arnold Chan .
the by elections seem very rushed as none of the parties have even nominated candidates in the alberta riding and cpc meeting wasn't even scheduled until October )

Lac-Saint-Jean federal byelection set for Oct. 23

Elections Canada has announced the dates for two federal byelections to be held in Quebec and Alberta ridings vacated by Conservative MPs.

Elections Canada has announced the dates for two federal byelections to be held in Quebec and Alberta ridings vacated by Conservative MPs.

The votes in the Quebec riding of Lac-Saint-Jean and Sturgeon River-Parkland, Alta., will be held on Monday, Oct. 23.

The Quebec seat was previously held by Denis Lebel, who announced his retirement in June after nearly 10 years in the House of Commons.

Conservative interim leader Rona Ambrose had previously held the seat in Sturgeon River-Parkland, just west of Edmonton. Ambrose resigned from politics in July after serving as party leader since 2015.

The byelections could be an early test for new Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, particularly in Lac-Saint-Jean, where Lebel won in 2015 with only 33 per cent of the vote.

Voters in the two electoral districts can cast their ballots in person or by mail.

GATINEAU, QC, Sept. 17, 2017 /CNW/ -
•Federal by-elections will be held on Monday, October 23, 2017, in the electoral districts of Lac-Saint-Jean (Quebec), and Sturgeon River–Parkland (Alberta) to fill vacancies in the House of Commons.

•Elections Canada offices in Lac-Saint-Jean and Sturgeon River–Parkland will be open shortly.

•Canadian citizens in these electoral districts who are at least 18 years old on election day are eligible to vote. To vote in a federal by‑election, an elector's home address must be in the electoral district from the first day of the revision of the voters lists, Wednesday, September 20, 2017, until election day, Monday, October 23, 2017.

•Electors need to be registered to vote. Most electors are already registered. To check their registration, electors can visit elections.ca/register or call us at 1‑800‑463‑6868. Unregistered electors can register at the Elections Canada office in their electoral district, or at the polls just before they vote.

•Electors have several voting options to choose from: by mail, in person at an Elections Canada office, at their advance polling station, or at their election day polling place.

•To vote, electors must show proof of their identity and address. The list of accepted pieces of identification is available online.

Residents in areas west of Edmonton will head to the polls Oct. 23 for a byelection to replace longtime Sturgeon River-Parkland Conservative MP Rona Ambrose, Elections Canada said Sunday.

Ambrose announced her departure from federal politics in May.

The 48-year-old was first elected to the House of Commons in 2004 to represent Edmonton-Spruce Grove, a riding that no longer exists.

She held it for four terms until it was re-drawn, winning each election by wide margins. In 2015, she won Sturgeon River-Parkland in similar fashion.

Ambrose held many cabinet positions in the Stephen Harper government. In 2006, she became the youngest female member of the federal cabinet after being named environment minister.

Ambrose left her Ottawa post to join the Wilson Center, a Washington-based think-tank.

Last month, the former interim federal Conservative leader was appointed to a new advisory council on the North American Free Trade Agreement by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The byelection for residents of Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, Onoway, Redwater, Sandy Beach, Bon Accord, Gibbons, Alexander, Morinville and Parkland County is one of two that day. The other is in Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec.

Elections Canada offices in both electoral districts will open shortly.

Stephanie Levitz, The Canadian Press
Published Friday, September 8, 2017 12:15PM EDT
Last Updated Friday, September 8, 2017 5:54PM EDT

WINNIPEG -- Federal Conservatives emerged Friday from two days of meetings, upbeat about the task ahead of holding the Liberals to account and strengthening their own party.

The work begins in earnest almost instantly as Quebec Conservatives plan to rally next week in the Quebec riding just vacated by longtime Tory stalwart Denis Lebel.

The byelection there will be an early test for new Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer and could be a tough one to pass: Lebel won Lac-Saint-Jean in 2015 with just 33 per cent of the vote.

But the Conservative feel wind in their sails thanks to a proposal by the Liberals to make changes to a tax code they argue currently allows wealthy businesses to get out of paying tax. But businesses in nearly every sector of the economy have said they are the ones who will take the real hit -- and the Conservatives are harnessing that outrage.

"They are hearing from every kind of small business across Canada, every kind," said Scheer of the Liberals.

"They are ignoring them. The Liberal arrogance on this is astounding."

Along with developing the lines of attack they'll use against the Liberals come the return of Parliament, the Conservatives are also thinking farther down the road to how they'll assemble and roll out their own proposals for the 2019 election.

Election strategy was part of the discussion at the fall planning meetings, with the Quebec byelection not the only one on the horizon.

Those three are considered secure holds for their respective parties, but Quebec could be a competitive race. Expect to see Tories on the ground there often in the coming months. The byelection has not yet been scheduled.

The Conservative candidate is Remy Leclerc, a former social worker who spent the last decade working for Lebel. On Thursday, the Liberals nominated a popular local mayor, Richard Hebert.

"It's a riding that's important for us to win," said Quebec Conservative Maxime Bernier.

"We're only 11 MPs in Quebec, we need to be more members of Parliament from Quebec if we want to win the next election."

The party elected 12 MPs in 2015 -- including Lebel -- their best showing in the province under former leader Stephen Harper.

It came largely at the expense of the collapse of support for the New Democrats, with Tories picking up seven of their seats.

Lebel's narrow finish in a riding he'd held for 10 years, however, was also due to a drop in NDP support and a consequent boost for the Liberals.

The pattern of NDP votes going to the Liberals repeated itself over and over again in the 2015 election and in some places cost the Tories seats.

Conservative deputy leader Lisa Raitt said the smaller NDP vote in Atlantic Canada, as well as in the Toronto area, were factors for her party's reduction to Opposition status. The party analyzed results like that across the country during their morning session Friday.

But just as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is irritating former Conservatives with measures like a review of the tax code, so too will he have to address the former New Democrats who came his way, she said.

"Mr. Trudeau has broken a lot of promises those NDP voters counted on and he'll have to atone for those as well," she said.

An unknown for the Conservatives, however, is who the New Democrats will select as their new leader next month.

Deepak Obhrai said he gave his fellow MPs an assessment Friday of the potential impact of candidate Jagmeet Singh. Obhrai called him a divisive figure in the Indo-Canadian community.

"If he does become leader, which I'm not sure, then there is a very big potential of many Jack Layton-type NDPers looking for a new home," Obhrai said.

"That's support we have to look into."

Conservative Gerard Deltell says he knows NDP candidate Guy Caron well, because the two have both served as finance critics. While he's not offering an endorsement, he said he thinks Caron has been running a good campaign.

"We do not select our opponent, we fight them," Deltell said.

"Let them select who they think is the best leader and we will address it."

The federal government announced Sunday that federal By-elections are underway in Lac-Saint-Jean and Sturgeon River–Parkland, the latter left vacant when Interim Conservative Leader and Sturgeon River-Parkland MP Rona Ambrose stepped down over the summer.

The Sturgeon River-Parkland Conservative Association has four nominees for their candidate:
Luke Inberg, Dane Lloyd, Jamie Mozeson, and Rick Peterson.

The by-election will be on Oct. 23 – a week after Municipal Election Day in Alberta. Nominations for the municipal election close at noon Monday, Sept. 18 giving municipal and federal candidates shared branding on Morinville lawns.

Canadian citizens in Sturgeon River-Parkland who are at least 18 years old on election day are eligible to vote in the federal by-election. To vote in a federal by‑election, an elector’s home address must be in the electoral district from the first day of the revision of the voters’ lists, Wednesday, September 20, 2017, until election day, Monday, October 23, 2017.

Electors need to be registered to vote. Most electors are already registered. To check their registration, electors can visit elections.ca/register or call us at 1‑800‑463‑6868. Unregistered electors can register at the Elections Canada office in their electoral district, or at the polls just before they vote.

Electors have several voting options to choose from: by mail, in person at an Elections Canada office, at their advance polling station, or at their election day polling place.
To vote, electors must show proof of their identity and address. The list of accepted pieces of identification is available online.

( I didn't think any candidates were nominated yet but does appear to be at least one already )

Christian Heritage Party nominates Ernest Chauvet for by-election

By Jesse Cole, Spruce Grove Examiner/Stony Plain Reporter

Thursday, September 14, 2017 1:01:08 MDT PM

Ernest Chauvet has been nominated as the candidate for the Christian Heritage Party in the upcoming Sturgeon River - Parkland by-election.

The Christian Heritage Party will once again be putting its support behind Ernest Chauvet in the upcoming by-election to fill the Sturgeon River-Parkland seat left vacant by former MP Rona Ambrose.

Chauvet won the nomination, which he held during the last federal election as well, over his opponent and Parkland County native Kevin Schulthies.

Chauvet, who is also the current president of the right-of-centre Christian Heritage Party, said that he entered the race once again despite losing to Ambrose during the 2015 general election, because the campaign is about more than just who sits in the House of Commons.

“You run because of the things you believe in and because you want to represent the people who share those beliefs,” Chauvet said. “You want to give them a chance to vote for what they believe in.”

When it comes to policy planks, both Chauvet and the Christian Heritage Party share fiscally and socially conservative messages.

“We definitely are close to our conservative rivals, fiscally,” said Chauvet of his candidacy’s policy planks. “But I think on the moral issues that are on going, whether it’s a pro-life question or the women as victims of abortion issue. I think the government has not been honest with that whole issue.”

Despite his defeat in the 2015 election, Chauvet received 690 votes, significant for a third-party candidate, and said that he thinks this by-election will be more fruitful due to less of a concern with strategic voting.

“I think in the last election, people were a lot more concerned with strategic voting. People were scared of splitting the vote and not winning the election,” he said. “I think this time around, there’s less fear because no matter who wins the by-election the federal government won’t change.”

While under no illusions of sweeping the riding, which has been held firmly by the Conservative Party for the last two general elections, Chauvet said he hopes that increased traction for his party and party’s like the Christian Heritage Party will influence policy changes within the more mainstream parties.

“I think that many people are concerned with the moral issues we’re facing and the Liberals, NDP and Green have no cause to address any of them,” he said. “If we get a significant amount of votes, it will invite the other political parties to adjust their policies.”

Former Interim Conservative Party of Canada Leader and Sturgeon River-Parkland MP Rona Ambrose’s Constituency Assistant, Luke Inberg, is seeking the Conservative nomination in the riding.

A long-time resident of Morinville, Inberg moved to town in 1998 when his father transferred from CFB Trenton in Ontario to Edmonton Garrison. He currently lives in Spruce Grove.

Inberg is perhaps best known locally for his work with The Father’s House Christian Fellowship, where he worked after completing a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Alberta in 2006. At the Father’s House, Inberg performed both administrative and pastoral duties and was Executive Pastor when he left.

“My role was to help people and build a caring community—I think that’s important preparation for a career that’s all about helping people and representing a community,” Inberg said of his previous role at the church.

The former Morinville resident left the Father’s House in 2015 to pursue political aspirations. Starting as a volunteer on Rona Ambrose’s campaign team, Inberg continued by working at Ambrose’s Constituency Offices in Stony Plain and Morinville.

Inberg said his primary role was “meeting with constituents, hearing them out where they had a concern, and helping them out where they needed assistance.”

Acknowledging that tax hikes, a downturn in the economy, support for the energy sector and pipelines are the key issue affecting constituents currently, the nomination candidate says the people he has talked to want common sense, ethical leadership, and security that democratic freedoms, including freedom of speech, are not eroded. Inberg said, “seniors and the unborn are also top of mind.”

For Inberg, this includes “Promoting the humanity of unborn children and the strain of the ever-increasing cost of living on seniors with low fixed incomes.”

“It’s disturbing when someone tells you they eat cat food,” Inberg said, speaking of one constituent with whom he spoke.

For more information on Luke’s campaign, contact his office at 780-298-8946, or visit his website at lukeinberg.ca.

Dane Lloyd announced his candidacy for the Conservative nomination in the Sturgeon River-Parkland riding Monday and was in Morinville Wednesday morning to speak to local Rotarians.

The seat Lloyd and others will be vying for is that of Rona Ambrose, who stepped down in July.

Dane Lloyd is currently the Parliamentary Advisor to St. Albert Edmonton MP Michael Cooper. Previously, he worked for former Minister of International Trade, the Honourable Ed Fast. He has also worked under Jason Kenney at the Department of Citizenship and Immigration.

“I’m pretty in tune with local issues,” Lloyd said. “This being my home, I feel like I’m a good, strong local candidate who understands the issues facing the people in this riding.

Lloyd also holds a commission as an infantry officer in the Canadian Armed Forces Reserves, something he says is a valuable asset in understanding the needs of the region’s military families.

“We have a military base in this riding, and I’m the only candidate who has any military experience, and I think that the people of the riding want somebody who can connect with them on that level.

“From a farming family, with a military background, with extensive political experience, I think I have what it takes to be the best member of parliament for this riding.

The candidate has been out knocking on doors in the region and hearing from voters first hand.

Lloyd said people at the doors are angry. “They’re not happy with the way this Liberal government is going, and they’re not happy with the way that the NDP Government is going,” he said. “I try to focus on the federal issues, but the carbon tax is a big issue. I’ve been talking to greenhouse operators around Morinville, and they’re not happy because that is how they heat their greenhouses. It’s just a real irritant, and it’s making us not competitive.”

Lloyd said his campaign would be committed to challenging Trudeau’s Carbon Tax, devoted to standing up for victims of crime, support the military, and defending the rights of law-abiding firearms-owners.

Another issue the candidate feels is not on anyone’s radar is the issue of religious freedom.

“It’s very much a provincial and a federal issue, but when you have Alberta Views Magazine talking about the end of Catholic schooling in Alberta, and you have cases going to the Supreme Court with Trinity Western … I think a lot of people who value Alberta’s tradition of school choice and diversity of education are worried that their ability to send their kids to a Catholic school or a private school – those days are numbered. As an MP, I’m going to stand up for that.”

Another thing Lloyd says he will stand up for is victim’s rights and a tough stance on crime. The candidate is proud of his work with MP Michael Cooper in getting Wynn’s Law (Bill S-217) past Second Reading. The law, named after Constable David Wynn, who has shot in a St. Albert Casino, would have made it mandatory to disclose suspects’ criminal histories during bail applications.

“That [Bill] meant working hand-in-hand with Liberals, NDP, Bloc Quebecois, the Green Party. We built a powerful coalition, and we got that passed at second reading. Now, unfortunately, it didn’t pass at the final vote at committee, but I was there. I have the legislative experience, and I feel very passionate about standing up for victims of crime and their families.”

Lloyd has the endorsement of Wynn’s widow, Shelly MacInnis-Wynn.

Nominations for the Conservative Party of Canada candidate for Sturgeon River-Prkland will open this fall.

More information on Dane Lloyd’s campaign and platform can be found at DaneLloyd.ca.

Though nominations for Rona Ambrose’s spot have not officially opened yet, Spruce Grove resident and long time Conservative Jamie Mozeson is already out knocking on doors to meet the people she hopes to represent.

The future candidate has a long history in the area, having grown up in Spruce Grove, working in the family’s local business, Peter’s Pizza, and attending the University of Alberta where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.

Mozeson has been back in Alberta since 2013, working in the private sector and later in Premier Prentice’s Office as a policy manager.

She rejoined the Conservative Party as the Alberta Regional Organizer in 2015 and was Target Seat Manager during the 2015 General Election. Mozeson also worked in Stephen Harper’s Prime Minister Office.

“I formed my platform around what I’m hearing at the doors,” Mozeson said, adding she has been campaigning for the past month. “I’ve spoken to hundreds of residents within Sturgeon River-Parkland and frankly what they’re talking to me about are their families, their business, and the energy industry. Those are the issues that I really want to stand up for them on. I want to create jobs by reducing the tax burden on businesses and the families that depend on them.”

Other campaign platforms include protecting Canadian families from threats at home and abroad, supporting Canada’s energy sector, including pipelines to get our resources to tidewater, championing infrastructure spending in the riding to improve access to our local economy., and stand boldly against wasteful government spending.

Mozeson said she is hoping to meet as many Sturgeon River-Parkland residents as possible as she campaigns on their doorsteps. For more information on Jamie Mozeson, visit jamiemozeson.com or contact the campaign office number at 780-930-2927.

Sturgeon River-Parkland should be considered a safe retain for the CPC;

Lac-Saint-Jean in theory could be a win for the LPC as they attracted a strong candidate and had their nominee sown up on the 7th.

The CPCs chances at retaining largely hinged on their ability to get Saguenay Mayor Jean Tremblay to seek the nomination which he said he would not do prior to his term ending in November which resulted in Former Roberval city councillor Rémy Leclerc being acclaimed a few weeks ago.

Sturgeon River-Parkland should be considered a safe retain for the CPC;

Lac-Saint-Jean in theory could be a win for the LPC as they attracted a strong candidate and had their nominee sown up on the 7th.

The CPCs chances at retaining largely hinged on their ability to get Saguenay Mayor Jean Tremblay to seek the nomination which he said he would not do prior to his term ending in November which resulted in Former Roberval city councillor Rémy Leclerc being acclaimed a few weeks ago.

the Alberta riding should stay conservative , although who will be on the ballot remains a mystery . it borders the city of Edmonton but appears to be fairly rural and some bedroom communities . its possible the ndp and liberals send some volunteers from the city into the riding for the by election as they'd be close by but unlikely to have much effect overall , the ndp vote likely go down as provincial government remains unpopular in rural alberta and considering the liberals have already lost 3 alberta by elections no one is expecting them to win this one

the lac saint jean by election is really hard to predict and have never been anywhere near the riding so I don't have a good feel for what's going on there .

the bloc quebecois also has some history there and most seem to be ignoring them as having any chance there , but it might be too early to say that is the case especially if ndp vote is weak , a riding where ndp /bloc voters might be more common than ndp/liberal voters

I don't know much about the new conservative candidate ( Remy Leclerc ) it will be a difficult riding to hold onto but perhaps being a by election there is still some chance as they often favour the opposition although sometimes in quebec they favour the government

Dane Lloyd, now the Conservative candidate for Sturgeon River — Parkland, makes the case for his candidacy in Stony Plain on Sept. 23.

The Conservative Party of Canada has a new candidate for the Sturgeon River – Parkland riding and his name is Dane Lloyd.

Lloyd was named as the Conservative candidate for the upcoming by-election to replace former MP for the region, Rona Ambrose, on Sunday, Sept. 24. after beating out fellow nomination candidates Rick Peterson, Jamie Mozeson and Luke Inberg.

The Conservative nomination vote was held at Stony Plain’s Heritage Park pavilion on Saturday, Sept. 23. All four nominees for the candidacy were given 10 minutes to speak as to why they should be nominated to represent the Conservative voice in Sturgeon River — Parkland. Lloyd and former Conservative leadership candidate, Peterson, emerged as the frontrunners of the race with both candidates garnering significant applause from the crowd and endorsements from local conservative voices like John Williams, the former MP for Sturgeon River — Parkland (who supported Lloyd) and Bill Peters (who supported Peterson).

Lloyd, a former staffer on Conservative campaigns dating back to 2005-2006 and second lieutenant with the Canadian Armed Forces Reserves, focused his campaign speech on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calling him someone who didn’t know how to manage a business.

“One thing is clear, Justin Trudeau has never run a small business in his life and he’s never run a family farm in his life. He does not know what it takes to run a successful business,” Lloyd said.

Lloyd said his key policy planks were fighting against what he called the Liberal’s small business and family farm tax grab, the national carbon tax (which garnered much applause) as well as victim rights.

“As (your Member of Parliament) I pledge to introduce no body, no parole legislation that ensure that convicted killers like Travis Vader will be behind bars where he belongs,” Lloyd said.

Former MP for the riding, Rona Ambrose, congratulated Lloyd over Twitter in the wake of his nomination saying,

“Congratulations on winning the @CPC_HQ nomination in Sturgeon River — Parkland, Now it’s on to the byelection. Good luck!”

Lloyd also received congratulations from United Conservative Party leadership candidate, Jason Kenney, who tweeted out his support for Lloyd, a former intern of Kenney’s.

As the Conservative nominee, Lloyd will run against NDP candidate Shawna Gawreluck, Liberal candidate Brian Gold and Christian Heritage Party candidate Ernest Chauvet. The byelection is scheduled for Oct. 23, 2017.

Marc Maltais made himself known during the lock-out of workers at the Rio Tinto d'Alma plant in 2012. On Tuesday, he announced his intentions to conduct a campaign focused on issues affecting the county's workers.

"Supply management is a fundamental issue. If we accept changes to supply management, it is the death of agriculture in my area, and we can not tolerate that. This is unacceptable, "the candidate said in his address to the media in Ottawa.

WOOD AND ALUMINUM

He also spoke in favor of the defense of workers in the lumber and aluminum industry.

"At Lac-Saint-Jean, enough is enough. We can no longer endure negotiations that are always against the people of our country. "

The Bloc was the only federal party that had not yet put forward a candidate for the election made necessary by the retirement of Conservative MP Denis Lebel. In addition to Marc Maltais, the other candidates who sway the seat of MP for Lac-Saint-Jean are Richard Hébert (PLC), Rémy Leclerc (CPC) and Gisèle Dallaire (NDP).

Two Conservative heavyweights are leaving, two very different situations that arise on October 23, when voters from two federal constituencies are called to the polls.

It seems clear that the Conservatives will keep their castle in Sturgeon River Parkland, Alberta, vacated by Interim Chief Rona Ambrose. In 2015, it received the support of 70% of voters and a majority of more than 33,000 votes.

But the race promises to be a lot more exciting in Lac-Saint-Jean, following the resignation of former minister Denis Lebel, who became CEO of the Quebec Forest Industry Council.

I know this riding well, having myself been a candidate for the NDP in a partial in 1996. I obviously had a tremendous success with my campaign, establishing a solid foundation for the 2011 Orange wave thanks to my ... 136 votes!

More seriously, beyond 20 years later, the four major political parties have a real chance of winning on paper. They all collected more than 10,000 votes in 2015. The polling expert Éric Grenier places the four parties side by side, with each formation relying on more or less a quarter of voters as potential supporters.

The performance of each party could give us an idea of ​​the next federal

Rémy Leclerc, former municipal councilor in Roberval, is the candidate of the Conservative Party. Right arm of Denis Lebel in the county, he led the four federal campaigns of the latter. It is also well known regionally for its involvement in the International Crossing of Lake Saint-Jean and the Véloroute des Bleuets. Is that why no one wanted to compete with him to wear the colors of the blues?

The Conservative Party has deep roots in the region. During the 1980s, the Sag-Lac was painted blue ... until the arrival of the Bloc Québécois. Denis Lebel took over the riding of Roberval-Lac-Saint-Jean from the hands of the Bloc during a complement in 2007 with 60% of the votes. While the minister easily withstood the 2011 Orange wave with 45% of the vote, the Liberals' rise in 2015 led to a 33% drop in Conservative support, which nearly cost them the NDP seat!

For the new Conservative leader Andrew Scheer, keeping the riding is an important test. If Stephen Harper had many critics in Quebec, he also had his admirers. Scheer has neither the one nor the other - it is still rather unknown. Campaign Research's latest poll puts his party in fourth place in Quebec with 12% of voting intentions, a position on which the vast majority of pollsters agree.

Scheer was at the lake this summer: the International Crossing of Lake Saint-Jean, the Beer Festival of Alma, the Zoo of Saint-Félicien, Val-Jalbert, Lark! A defeat could make some militants regret that they chose Scheer rather than Maxime Bernier, especially since Scheer's Lieutenant, Alain Reyes, set the bar high by declaring that the Conservatives wanted to keep this county altogether

Gisele Dallaire, an industrial psychologist by training, will once again represent the New Democratic Party. She had frightened Denis Lebel in 2015. Despite the loss of support from the NDP in Quebec, she finished less than five points late on the night of the vote.

The NDP had done well in the Alma region, while Lebel's strength was obviously around Roberval. It is therefore not surprising to see the candidate try to present the election as a race for two.

The NDP, however, begins this partial lack of a permanent leader. Thomas Mulcair was in the county Monday, but the next leader will have at best 22 days, at worst a week, to try to influence this election.

The New Democrats, who own the neighboring Jonquière county, must be competitive to show that, contrary to what many believe, and despite the weakness of their organization, the Orange wave has made the NDP a permanent actor in Quebec. For the time being, the NDP is still in second place in the province, just ahead of the Bloc and the Conservatives, but at least 20 points behind the Liberal Party.

The Liberal Party of Canada will put all the gum to dislodge the Conservatives and supplant the NDP. Liberal strategists know that in 2019 they will lose seats in the Atlantic and the Prairies. To maintain their majority, they will bet on Justin Trudeau's strategy of making gains in Quebec, the first target being New Democratic voters and seats.

A gain at the expense of the Conservatives in Lac-Saint-Jean, a riding that the Liberals have not won since 1980, would send a clear message that trudeaumanie 2.0 is in Quebec to stay.

In order to win, the PLC counts on a proven recipe: a popular local mayor, Richard Hébert, Mayor of Dolbeau-Mistassini, who was preferred by the activists to the former vice-chief of the band council of Mashteuiatsh Marjolaine Étienne .

Never did the voters of Lac-Saint-Jean send a woman or a native to Ottawa. Marjolaine Étienne was a perfect candidate for Justin Trudeau. But the liberal reflex seems to have been to choose a white man of a certain age who would have a better chance of winning.

To prepare the ground, the Liberals marched Justin Trudeau in Roberval's corner this summer, and the pre-session caucus was held in Alma at the end of August. Lucky, the Liberal candidate will be able to praise the government's investments in the region, which have been raining fortunately for some time: $ 13 million to improve high-speed Internet services and the cellular network covering Route 155, which links the Mauricie to the Saguenay- Lac-Saint-Jean; $ 1.7 million for the Fairy Hole in Desbiens; loan of 1 million to Nutrinor; financial assistance of $ 350,000 to Adex d'Hébertville-Station. In short, money flows freely.

As for the Bloc Québécois, he has just chosen the trade unionist Marc Maltais. The party detained the county for 13 years, from 1991 to 2004. Its first Bloc member? A certain Lucien Bouchard! This means that Lac-Saint-Jean is truly the birthplace of the Bloc.

It should be remembered, however, that Chief Martine Ouellet stated at the outset that she would not be a candidate. Too far from the house, she said. The reality is that the Bloc is still struggling. Bringing Lac-Saint-Jean back to the Bloc will not be a trivial task. For Martine Ouellet, renouncing her seat in the National Assembly (as well as the salary and resources that come with it) would have been a game that would not have been worth the effort.

Yet the crisis that shook the small Bloc caucus in the spring shows that sovereignist troops in Ottawa would need a full-time leader. Martine Ouellet remains the best asset of the Bloc currently, but it is evolving on the bad skating rink. The supplementary election is therefore a missed opportunity, which sends a very bad message: even if the leader of the Bloc was afraid to appear in the former riding of Lucien Bouchard ...

The NDP will have a new leader for the final sprint. The Conservatives will defend their ridings. The Liberal Party has everything to gain and takes the means to do it. And the Bloc could thwart prognoses.

Very few races are real four. Political enthusiasts will have a great autumn in Lac-Saint-Jean.

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